Chapter 1 - Iris

The gun went off, sending wildlife scattering through the bushes and birds soaring into the air. I winced at the sound but said nothing.

"There we go," Dad said, slinging the gun across his back. "It landed just over that ridge." He glanced at me. "Well? Go get it."

Biting back a sigh, I nodded and followed his orders. The bird had indeed landed just on the other side of the ridge. I tied it to the rest of my bundle, then hurried back to where my dad and brother Jason were waiting.

"Speed up," Dad ordered. "You're slowing down."

"Sorry, Dad," I said. I didn't bother trying to argue or give any excuses. Anything I said would fall on deaf ears, anyway.

"Don't be sorry, just be quicker," Dad snapped. His rough gray beard and piercing eyes made him even more intimidating than his broad shoulders and height.

I glanced away, training my gaze on my feet. Part of me wanted to tell him to knock it off, to actually treat me with some respect, but that would only make things worse, so I bit my tongue and simply nodded.

"Good," Dad said. "Now, come on. We're losing daylight, and if we don't find anything else, it's your fault."

"Yes, sir," I said.

Jason, leaning against the tree, scoffed and shook his head at me. He was a carbon copy of my father down to the cowlick in his dark hair.

"You heard him. Get moving," he said, pushing off the bark and moving to walk next to our father.

Exhausted, the day's trek and my ever-growing bundle weighing down on me, I took a step forward and nearly tripped as something got caught on my shoelace. I bent down and tied it hurriedly. But by the time I'd gotten back to my feet, Dad had realized I wasn't following. He turned to look over his shoulder at me, his eyes narrowing.

"Girl, if you don't start moving your ass, I'll drag you after us myself—and you don't want that. Hurry up before I have to teach you another lesson about following orders."

"Sorry," I repeated as Jason snickered.

"It's useless, Dad," he said. "She's too stupid to listen."

I tried not to wince. I wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up and leave me alone, but I knew doing that would only cause more trouble. The more I kept my mouth shut, the happier I would be. It was easier to just take it.

I sighed, readjusting the bundles before continuing my trek, following Dad and Jason.

It didn't used to be this bad. Well, not exactly—it was still bad, just in different ways. And Mom being around had made it more bearable. There at least had been someone I could go to for comfort. Granted, I didn't think Dad treated her much better than they treated me. Nowadays, I sometimes wondered why she'd stuck around for so many years. But I couldn't judge, because I hadn't left, either. The one time I'd tried, it hadn't ended well.

Since Mom had died, Dad and Jason had only gotten worse, taking all their anger out on me, making my life a living hell. I wanted to leave, desperately wanted to run away. But I had never been allowed to have a job, had no finances of my own, had never been taught how to shoot or hunt. I wouldn't be able to fend for myself and knew nothing of the world outside the small village I'd grown up in and the surrounding woods. If I tried to run away, I'd either die out in the woods or be dragged back by Dad and Jason.

Still, that didn't stop me from dreaming. I had a recurring dream, one where I was running through the woods, the world blurring all around me as the wind whipped my hair behind me. It was the freest I'd ever felt, and it felt so real. But then the image would dissipate, and I would be back home, stuck forever.

"Catch up!" Jason called as I continued to trudge behind. "You don't want the wolf men to get you, do you?"

I sucked in a breath. It wasn't that I actually believed him, but the thought of the wolf men was enough to make me look around to see if I could catch one out of the corner of my eye. I'd grown up hearing stories about the men who could turn into wolves whenever they wanted, who would creep into town and steal women away. Jason, especially, loved to tell me those stories whenever he got the chance to scare me.

I knew wolf men existed; the entire world did. But there was no evidence they lived nearby. But that didn't stop the thought from creeping into the corners of my mind, tendrils of fear digging into me.

I pushed them away, searching through my mind to find something more palatable. Something that would actually give me some comfort rather than fill me with dread.

As we continued walking, my thoughts wandered, floating back to memories from years ago, ones I took solace in whenever Dad and Jason were particularly unbearable. Memories of a tall, muscular stranger with a strong jaw and high cheekbones, his brilliant red hair looking as if it were on fire when the light hit it right. I remembered lying in the grass with him, soaking up the sun as we talked about our future. A future that would never happen.

From the moment we'd met, Alek had treated me with a kindness that Dad and Jason had never given me. I'd fallen hard for him, sneaking out constantly, nearly every day, in order to meet him and spend as much time with him as possible. He'd made me laugh, and we'd talked about our dreams and what we wanted to do with our lives. There had been a connection between us I hadn't realized was possible.

And then it was over.

I never thought about the way it had ended if I could avoid it. It was unpleasant, to say the least. Still, the memory often flew in on the coattails of my fond recollections of us together, marring everything just a little.

But what was done was done.

Yet, I wondered what had happened to him, what he was doing now. I liked to think he was happy. I liked to think he wasn't mad at me for vanishing the way I did. But none of that really mattered anymore.

"Iris!" Dad yelled. "Stop stalling and get up here! I'm not asking you again."

"Sorry, Dad!" I called, and hurried off to follow my family, leaving the treasured memories of Alek behind me as I did.